Ban children under the age of 13 from accessing social media platforms, with an EU-wide minimum age of 15 for minors to open their own account, and shifting the burden of proof onto service providers who will now have to demonstrate that their services are age-appropriate and safe by design. These are the main contents of the Kids Act, presented today by the European Commission.
The work of the expert group
The proposal is based on the report and recommendations of the Special Group on Child Safety Online, convened by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and composed of more than 60 experts, including representatives of civil society organisations, youth representatives, parents, educators, child psychiatrists, public health specialists, neurologists and technology experts, who met three times before the delivery of the report in July 2026.
Independent accounts from 15 years old, mini-accounts between 13 and 15
Specifically, the EU Kids Act proposes that minors can only create independent accounts on social media services from the age of 15. For minors between the ages of 13 and 15 (not yet turned), the proposal provides parental controls, allowing guardians to set up mini-accounts that minors can access via the guardian’s account. This would give them access to age-appropriate social media and video sharing platforms.
Additionally, services available on mini-accounts must be designed with safeguards in place, such as limited social contact and limited screen time to a maximum of one hour per day.
Under 13 years only video services for children
Minors between the ages of 3 and 13 (under 13) cannot access social media, but can access specially designed, child-friendly video sharing services through guardian-managed accounts. To this end, platforms must offer parents or guardians an easy-to-use tool to limit the use of the adult’s device to such child-friendly services, when entrusted to minors, and limit the child’s exposure to a maximum of one hour per day.
Age verification
Under the Kids Act, online services and app stores must use age verification tools. They can, for example, use the EU age verification app, which does not store identity documents or biometric data, thus meeting the highest privacy standards.
Member States will be closely involved in the creation of this ecosystem. Additionally, social media service providers and video sharing platforms will be required to carry out age verification when a user opens a new account.
For existing accounts, providers must estimate the user’s age based on reasonable indicators (e.g. account creation date, credit card information).
Stop infinite scrolling and addictive features
The Kids Act also imposes a series of obligations on all online services that offer social media, video sharing, online video games, AI companions and chatbots to users under the age of 18. These include bans on addictive features and profiling-based recommendation feeds that lead minors down rabbit holes of harmful content. Infinite scrolling without stopping points, reward mechanisms and push notifications during late hours are also prohibited, as is unsolicited contact from strangers.
Additionally, AI-based virtual companions and chatbots must be turned off by default and cannot simulate interpersonal relationships in ways that create emotional dependence. Child profiles should be private by default, with geolocation, camera and microphone turned off. Online services must also offer easy ways for minors to block and mute users, effective time management tools, and safe recommendation systems that minors can monitor, adjust, and reset.
The burden of proof shifts to the platforms
Finally, the proposal reverses the ‘burden of proof’, making providers of very large online platforms responsible for demonstrating that their services are ‘secure by design’.
They will be obliged to submit a compliance plan to the Commission and to an independent auditor who will have to thoroughly evaluate the new service, functionality or feature. The Commission may ask the supplier to propose corrective measures if, based on the auditor’s report, it considers that the compliance plan has deficiencies. The enforcement framework builds on existing structures under the Digital Services Act and the AI Act, drawing on established mechanisms and existing expertise. The proposal introduces accelerated enforcement procedures against providers for non-compliance with the Kids Act, where the Commission would conclude investigations within 90 days. The legislative proposal has been transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council, in order to start the legislative process for their examination and adoption.
Von der Leyen: «When a function creates dependency, the answer is a clear no»
«Until now the question has been when children can have access to social media. But when a feature is addictive, the answer is a clear no. They must eliminate that function, and until this happens, no access to the platform for children and minors.” This was stated by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in the press conference to present the EU Kids Act, in Strasbourg. In that case, «the platforms cannot reach our children and minors. It is a clear component of exclusion,” added von der Leyen.
The Digital Fairness Act in the fall
In the autumn the Commission will propose a new package, the Digital Fairness Act, which will provide a framework of measures on the use of platforms. «Not only minors are at risk. There are designs” of platforms “that create addiction. They harm everyone, whether minors or adults. And this is why we also need a broader regulatory framework: the Digital Fairness Act. We will propose it in the autumn, today the focus is on the Eu Kids Act”. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this.